This week we take a look at a group which has been singing for thirty plus years, but about a year ago took on a new direction. The group is The Perrys from Morristown, Tennessee. In the early years this was a family group, but over the last few years all of the members of the Perry family have moved on with the exception of Libbi. Kenny had some health problems and the sisters’ left for various reasons. The traditional make-up of the group was two male and two female singers but when Nicole Watts decided to leave the group as well as the road to get married. The decision was made to replace Nicole with a male singer. Although there were changes taking place in The Perrys the commitment was still to keep a traditional conventional Gospel Music sound alive.

The Happy Goodman Family during the 60’s and 70’s as well as the original Hinsons made the make-up of one female and three male singers popular. Tracy Stuffle, Libbi’s husband and the bass singer and manager, stated that he hopes The Perrys can do their part to preserve the traditional sound and style of the past. Folks all across the country love The Perrys new sound. Older folk who are longtime Gospel fans remember the sound and are excited about its return, while younger folks are hearing this sound for the first time and are equally as excited. The other members of the group are from the same general area as Tracy and Libbi and some of the members have been a part of other Southern Gospel groups.

Over the years The Perrys have had several songs in the Top 20 Singing News Charts. Their first song on the charts was in 1991 with a song entitled “What Haven Means To Me” followed by songs such as “God Sent Angels,” “Not Even A Stone” and “When He Spoke.”  From their project “Absolutely Live” came a number one song entitled “Praise God It’s Settled I’m Saved” and another crowd pleaser from this same project is “I’m Still Amazed” An old song made popular by Vestal Goodman and sung by Libbi is, “ God Walks The Dark Hills,” certainly one of my favorites.

To close this week’s article it seems only fitting to quote Libbi as to the purpose and mission of The Perrys. “We never want to compromise what we do for the sake of business or entertainment. I cannot stress enough the concern we should have for lives. In every seat at every concert, there is a hurting person. If we fail to tell them Jesus Christ is the answer, we have failed ourselves as well as God.”

As I understand the Perrys will be at North Fork Baptist Church this Thursday at 7:15. I did not find any information on the church website but the telephone number is 864-836-0022 and the date is listed on the Perrys website. Also you are invited to Heritage Chapel this Sunday at 10:30 to hear Greg Day in concert.

You can contact me for more details. I can be contacted at (864) 979-9626 or (864) 895-1287.